How Did They Get Here: Ruby Riott
You ever see a wrestler that you like and wonder just how did they get to this point in their career? Like how did they get to be as good as they are now a days. This was the thought that I had when I saw the debut on the main roster of Ruby Riott. I knew she looked a little familiar and that I had seen her floating around the internet, but couldn’t place her. Let's take a deep dive into the career of the Punk-Ragdoll and look at her long road to the WWE.
Riott started her training under the tutelage of Billy Roc on December 12th, 2010. Her first match was on January 9th 2011, where she went against Abbie at NWA Underground Bandstock under the name Miss Heidi and it ended in a no contest. The fact that she was only one month into her training and then had her first match shows that someone was very high on her that early into her career and someone saw something in her that early in her career. Her first win didn’t come until May 13th 2011, in the first round on the NWA Underground Totally Independent Tag Team Invitational. Miss Heidi teamed up with Brutus Dylan to form the team of Brutally Heartless to not only win a match, but went on to won the whole tournament. Heidi and Dylan would win the finals against Team Wreckless (Blackjack Majik & Nick Xero) and Hank Calhoun and Mike King. As the year went on, Miss Heidi’s stock continued to rise and rise. She was in a casket match against Camron Star at New Era Wrestling’s Trick or Treat which ended in a no contest. Heidi did pick up wins over Star at NEW Losing Grounds on November 19th and NEW Giving Back 2011.
On January 29th, 2012, Miss Heidi made her debut in Absolute Intense Wrestling at Girls Night Out 5 against a wrestler named Crazy Mary Dobson. Why is this important you may ask? Well Crazy Mary Dobson has gone on to become the present day Sarah Logan, her future Riott Squad teammate. Heidi was involved in her first championship match on March 3rd 2012 at Hoosier Pro Wrestling for the HPW Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in gaining the title. On May 16th Miss Heidi, under the name as Heidi Douglas, started to wrestle constantly for Ohio Valley Wrestling. She lost her debut match to Taeler Hendrix, and the underwent another name change, and this one seemed to stick for a while, Heidi Lovelace. As Heidi Lovelace, she continued to have a lot of great matches where she continued to grow as a wrestler.
On January 29th, 2012, Miss Heidi made her debut in Absolute Intense Wrestling at Girls Night Out 5 against a wrestler named Crazy Mary Dobson. Why is this important you may ask? Well Crazy Mary Dobson has gone on to become the present day Sarah Logan, her future Riott Squad teammate. Heidi was involved in her first championship match on March 3rd 2012 at Hoosier Pro Wrestling for the HPW Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in gaining the title. On May 16th Miss Heidi, under the name as Heidi Douglas, started to wrestle constantly for Ohio Valley Wrestling. She lost her debut match to Taeler Hendrix, and the underwent another name change, and this one seemed to stick for a while, Heidi Lovelace. As Heidi Lovelace, she continued to have a lot of great matches where she continued to grow as a wrestler.
On September 1st, Heidi Lovelace defeated Taeler Hendrix in a No Disqualification Match, which earned her a future shot at the OVW Women’s Championship. At the September 15th house show Lovelace captured her first championship, defeating Taeler Hendrix to win the championship. Lovelace would defend the title against Lynda Lodge before losing it to Taryn Terrell. What was very tough to find was any footage of Lovelace winning the title and wrestling for OVW. 2012 also saw Lovelace make her debut in Shimmer in a dark match teaming with December in a losing effort against Kira & Sweet Cherrie. For those that don’t know, SHIMMER is an all women’s wrestling and is one of the best North American promotions going today. For lack of a better comparison, it is the Stardom of North America, only women's wrestling and putting on amazing matches all the time.
After her run at the top of the division, Lovelace began showing up on the independent scene a lot more. Her first really big match was against MsChif at the AAW Epic - 9th Anniversary Show, which MsChif won. One matchup I really wanted to highlight was April 14th where Heidi Lovelace teamed up with Saturyne and beat the team of Los Ice Creams, which includes El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr. While this match wasn’t a technical masterpiece, the names were just worth mentioning. 2013 also saw Lovelace make her SHIMMER main card debut, in a tag team match teaming with Santana Garrett in a losing effort against Jessicka Havok and Sassy Stephie. She also made her solo match debut at Volume 60 and 61, against Nikki Storm (Nikki Cross) and Nicole Matthews, both of which were losses.
After her run at the top of the division, Lovelace began showing up on the independent scene a lot more. Her first really big match was against MsChif at the AAW Epic - 9th Anniversary Show, which MsChif won. One matchup I really wanted to highlight was April 14th where Heidi Lovelace teamed up with Saturyne and beat the team of Los Ice Creams, which includes El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr. While this match wasn’t a technical masterpiece, the names were just worth mentioning. 2013 also saw Lovelace make her SHIMMER main card debut, in a tag team match teaming with Santana Garrett in a losing effort against Jessicka Havok and Sassy Stephie. She also made her solo match debut at Volume 60 and 61, against Nikki Storm (Nikki Cross) and Nicole Matthews, both of which were losses.
While 2014 wasn’t the biggest year for Lovelace, she did see a lot of growth in the ring for her. Lovelace found a new teammate in Solo Darling to form The Buddy System, and she picked up her first win in SHIMMER against Angie Skye. In the span of May 4th - May 8th, Lovelace teamed with three different partners trying to beat the team of Mary Dobson and Mad Man Pondo in Juggalo City Wrestling, but just couldn’t get the job done. Lovelace then entered the JT Lightning Invitational, and reaching the Quarterfinals. She picked up a win in the first round over Rickey Shane Page and falling to Michael Elgin. Lovelace got back a huge win on August 14th, when she beat Matt Cage for the AAW Heritage Championship at AAW All Hail. Lovelace is the only women’s wrestler to win the championship in its history, and had one successful defenses against Davey Vega before dropping the title to Rickey Shane Page at AAW A Monsters Rage. Lovelace also teamed up with Athena (Ember Moon) to take part in the AAW Tag Team Titles, and reached the finals before falling to Dan Lawrence and Markus Crane. Lovelace then went to CHIKARA to participate in the Young Lion Cup. She won her first round matchup against Eddie Smooth, and then won the six way semifinal against Arctic Rescue Ant, Joe Black, Princess KimberLee, The Proletariat Boar of Moldova and Will Ferrara. Lovelace won the CHIKARA Young Lion title from Missile Assault Ant at Tomorrow Never Dies - Pre-show-A-Go-Go. Lovelace would go on to hold the title for 427 days, not losing it until September 6th, 2016. The first huge matchup of Lovelace’s career was on December 27th against Chris Sabin at AAW One Twisted Christmas 2014, but came up just short.
In 2015, Heidi Lovelace started to get a lot of exposure and get her name out there. For the first two and a half months, Lovelace went to Japan to have some matches in Stardom. In her time their she joined the stable Oedo Tai with Drafonita, Hudson Envy and Kris Wolf. The trio of Lovelace, Drafonita and Envy even challenged for the Artist of Stardom Championships against Heisei-gun which consisted of Io Shirai, Mayu Iwatani and Takumi Iroha. After coming back to the states, Lovelace’s first match was a tag team match with Evie (Dakota Kai) to beat Mayumi Ozaki & Saraya Knight for a win in SHIMMER. Lovelace entered the Challenge of the Immortals as a part of Dasher’s Dugout, and while they didn’t win the team they faced first was a very fun one. Dasher’s Dugout went against United Nations, which consisted of Juan Francisco de Coronado, Mr. Azerbaijan, Prakash Saber and The Proletariat Boar of Moldova. That is a line up of a great united nations if I’ve ever heard of.
On September 11th, Heidi Lovelace challenged Athena for the Absolute Intense Wrestling Women’s Championship at AIW Faith No More. Lovelace would beat Athena, as she was on her way to NXT. Lovelace would face the likes of Tessa Blanchard, Veda Scott and Crazy Mary Dobson before dropping the title to Shayna Baszler. On May 15th at A1 Immortal Kombat, Lovelace defeated Josh Alexander to win the A1 Alpha Male title from Josh Alexander, becoming the second ever women’s wrestler to win the title after Seleziya Sparx.
In 2015, Heidi Lovelace started to get a lot of exposure and get her name out there. For the first two and a half months, Lovelace went to Japan to have some matches in Stardom. In her time their she joined the stable Oedo Tai with Drafonita, Hudson Envy and Kris Wolf. The trio of Lovelace, Drafonita and Envy even challenged for the Artist of Stardom Championships against Heisei-gun which consisted of Io Shirai, Mayu Iwatani and Takumi Iroha. After coming back to the states, Lovelace’s first match was a tag team match with Evie (Dakota Kai) to beat Mayumi Ozaki & Saraya Knight for a win in SHIMMER. Lovelace entered the Challenge of the Immortals as a part of Dasher’s Dugout, and while they didn’t win the team they faced first was a very fun one. Dasher’s Dugout went against United Nations, which consisted of Juan Francisco de Coronado, Mr. Azerbaijan, Prakash Saber and The Proletariat Boar of Moldova. That is a line up of a great united nations if I’ve ever heard of.
On September 11th, Heidi Lovelace challenged Athena for the Absolute Intense Wrestling Women’s Championship at AIW Faith No More. Lovelace would beat Athena, as she was on her way to NXT. Lovelace would face the likes of Tessa Blanchard, Veda Scott and Crazy Mary Dobson before dropping the title to Shayna Baszler. On May 15th at A1 Immortal Kombat, Lovelace defeated Josh Alexander to win the A1 Alpha Male title from Josh Alexander, becoming the second ever women’s wrestler to win the title after Seleziya Sparx.
Lovelace then started to show up more and more in SHIMMER and became one of the SHIMMER Girls along with the likes of Candice LeRae, Evie, Tessa Blanchard, Kimber Lee and Kay Lee Ray. At SHIMMER Volume 78, the team of Heidi Lovelace and Evie (named Team Slap Happy) beat the team of Vanessa Kraven and Tessa Blanchard (named Mount Tessa) to become tag team number one contenders for the tag team titles. The team didn’t get a chance at the titles until Volume 81 on June 24th, 2016. Slap Happy lost to The Kimber Bombs (Cherry Bomb & Kimber Lee), but got a second chance. At June 26th at Volume 84, Team Slap Happy beat The Kimber Bombs, BaleSpin (KC Spinelli & Xandra Blade) and Fly High WDSS (Kay Lee Ray & Mia Yim) to win the titles. They had three defenses before dropping them to Mount Tessa. Lovelace won one more title on independent scene, the Fest Wrestling Title in a tournament, beating Su Yung, Angel Rose, and Arik Cannon to win the title. It was a short reign as Yund defeated Lovelace at FEST Pickle In The Tree. After making it on the American independent scene, and wrestling for big promotions like Stardom and SHIMMER, it was time for the next step in Heidi Lovelace’s career.
Lovelace first appeared at the NXT House Show on January 13th, 2017, losing to Daria Berenato. There was a nice little detail on the January 20th show, they had a 12 person tag team battle royal, you know who Lovelace’s partner was? Liv Morgan, her other future Riott Squad team member. On February 1st, the name Heidi Lovelace was changed to Dori Prange, her real name. Prange won her first match at an NXT Live Show where she beat Kimberly Frankele (Kimber Lee) on February 11th. At the February 22nd show, the name Ruby Riot was used, and that has been the name that has stuck for the most part since. Riot went on a streak where she won 14 straight matches, and she probably has an interesting thing in the history book. From what I can find, Ruby Riot is the first person to have their first televised match at a Takeover, rather than at a TV Taping. Riot debuted at Takeover: Orlando, teaming up with Kassius Ohno, Roderick Strong and Tye Dillinger in a losing effort to Sanity. Riot would make her television taping at the next set, defeating Kimberly Frankele. Riot was a part of a battle royal to determine a number one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship, and was a part of the final three along with Ember Moon and Nikki Cross. Asuka interrupted and attacked all three. At Takeover: Chicago it was going to be a fatal four way, but Moon suffered a legit injury taking her out. It was also really cool as Riot was on a poster for the event. Asuka retained, but remained a constant challenger for the title on the live show loops. She was employed by the company for five months, and she already had two Takeover matches, and a poster from one of the Takeovers. That is really impressive and shows me that someone (probably Triple H) was very high on her.
After Takeover: Chicago, Riot became a mainstay on the live show loop as they waited find something for her. There was not much left for her to do in NXT, so there was one answer, the main roster. On November 21st, 2017, on Smackdown Ruby Riot showed up with Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan in tow. The trio had their first match on November 28th, defeating Charlotte Flair, Naomi & Natalya on Smackdown Live. Many people complain about the booking of Riott Squad, but they were booked pretty well on Smackdown. Riott, Morgan, and Logan beat anyone and everyone. Riott competed in the first ever women’s Royal Rumble Match, entering at 15 and getting two eliminations, Vickie Guerrero and Becky Lynch, before being eliminated by Nia Jax. Riott then got the opportunity at the Smackdown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair at Fastlane, but coming up short. Riott then went on to the Wrestlemania 34 battle royal, where she was one of the final five wrestlers in the match and even eliminating Mickie James.
The team was then sent to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake Up in 2018. A majority of the time on that roster has been dealing with Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya. Riott would beat Banks on her second night on the brand, and would follow that up with a victory over Bayley at Backlash. Riott would lose a Money in the Bank Qualifier in a match featuring Ember Moon and Sasha Banks. In the gauntlet last chance qualifying match for the Money in the Bank match, Riott would get all the way to the final two, but fell to Sasha Banks. If backstage rumors are to be believed, then that was a last minute call, as Riott was supposed to be in the 2018 Women’s Money in the Bank match (yes I am still mad she isn’t in this years). Riott Squad would then just be on the house show loop, until the build for Evolution (remember that good pay per view?). They would lose to Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya. Riott would then enter a feud with Natalya, which would culminate in a Tables match at TLC, where Natalya won.
The team was then sent to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake Up in 2018. A majority of the time on that roster has been dealing with Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya. Riott would beat Banks on her second night on the brand, and would follow that up with a victory over Bayley at Backlash. Riott would lose a Money in the Bank Qualifier in a match featuring Ember Moon and Sasha Banks. In the gauntlet last chance qualifying match for the Money in the Bank match, Riott would get all the way to the final two, but fell to Sasha Banks. If backstage rumors are to be believed, then that was a last minute call, as Riott was supposed to be in the 2018 Women’s Money in the Bank match (yes I am still mad she isn’t in this years). Riott Squad would then just be on the house show loop, until the build for Evolution (remember that good pay per view?). They would lose to Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya. Riott would then enter a feud with Natalya, which would culminate in a Tables match at TLC, where Natalya won.
2019 has not been kind to Riott. She had a decent showing in the Royal Rumble with three eliminations, Candice LeRae, Alicia Fox and Kairi Sane before being eliminated by Bayley. Riott would get a Raw Women’s Championship match at Elimination Chamber against Ronda Rousey, which was very quick match. The next night on Raw was a lot better, and Rousey retaining each time. Riott did not have a good showing this year at the Wrestlemania battle royal either.
It is time for them to use the talent that they have at their hands in Ruby Riott. She is someone who is a great wrestler, and has all the tools available to be successful in the WWE. She has the look, she has the talent and the promo skills needed. She just needs that opportunity. It will be interesting to see where she goes now that Liv Morgan has gone to Smackdown. Does she stay with Sarah Logan, does she go solo, is she a face, is she a heel? It will be interesting to see, but I am very excited for it, and can't wait to see what her future holds in the ring.
